Prosa 10

section 1

demonstrandum: sc. esse.

section 2

In quo: an antecedent like argumentum must be supplied.
paulo ante: 3P9.26.
in rerum natura: i.e., in the world of sense and matter.
ne: ne . . . decipiat: purpose clause following inquirendum.
praeter rei subiectae ueritatem: "apart from [i.e., void of] the truth of the matter under discussion."
cassa: "empty of," with genitive.
decipiat: ne . . . decipiat: purpose clause following inquirendum.

section 3

id: antecedent is omne.
imminutione: "reduction, diminution."
perhibetur: < perhibeo, "call, describe."

section 4

in quolibet genere: "in any way, manner."
sit: subjunctive in result clause after fit (at the beginning of the sentence).
sublata: < tollo, "remove, take away."
unde: unde . . . exstiterit: indirect question.
exstiterit: unde . . . exstiterit: indirect question.
fingi: < fingo, "imagine [contrary to fact]."

section 5

inconsummatis: "uncompleted, imperfect things," contrasted with absolutis in the next clause.
haec extrema atque effeta: the material world of our experience (effeta: "exhausted of fertility").

section 7

Quo: Quo . . . habitet: "where [true happiness] dwells."
habitet: Quo . . . habitet: "where [true happiness] dwells."
Deum: Deum . . . bonum esse: indirect statement; bonum is predicative.
bonum esse: Deum . . . bonum esse: indirect statement; bonum is predicative.
melius: neuter, agrees with nihil and takes deo as ablative of comparison.
quo: "than which"; ablative of comparison.

section 8

conuincat: "proves, demonstrates."

section 9

eo: i.e., deo.
perfectum: perfectum . . . bonum: object of possidens.
bonum: perfectum . . . bonum: object of possidens.
quod: antecedent is aliquid.
hoc: i.e., deo; ablative.
minus: take closely with integris.
claruerunt: "have become obvious," i.e., "it has become clear (in the earlier argument) that . . ."

section 10

ne: ne . . . prodeat: < prodeo, "go on, advance".
prodeat: ne . . . prodeat: < prodeo, "go on, advance".
constituimus: in 3P2.11.
quod: "[anything] which."

section 11

quam: "how," taken with sancte atque inuiolabiliter ("invulnerably").
id: id . . . quod . . . diximus: object of probes.
quod: id . . . quod . . . diximus: object of probes.
summum deum: summum deum . . . esse plenissimum: accusative/infinitive after diximus.
diximus: id . . . quod . . . diximus: object of probes.
esse plenissimum: summum deum . . . esse plenissimum: accusative/infinitive after diximus.

section 12

naturaliter: "by nature."
habentis dei habitaeque beatitudinis: "of God who has [happiness] and of the happiness that is had [by God]."

section 13

acceptum: sc. bonum.
praestantius: praestantius . . . existimare possis: apodosis of the condition.
ab eo quod acceperit: "than that which accepted"; ab with ablative for the ablative of comparison is late Latin.
existimare possis: praestantius . . . existimare possis: apodosis of the condition.

section 14

Quod: connecting relative; antecedent is bonum.
ratione: here, "faculty of reason."
fingat qui potest: "let him who can imagine."
diuersa: i.e., God and happiness.

section 15

quod: antecedent is id.
quod: antecedent is the phrase id summum bonum non est; object of cogitare: "which it is nefas to think about that one."
quo: antecedent is eo.

section 16

concluserim: potential subjunctive: "I would conclude."

section 17

refragari: "to oppose," takes the dative.
illis hoc inlatum consequens: "[that] this conclusion/inference (< infero) is the consequence of [i.e., follows from] these [things]."

section 18

hinc quoque: "hence also."
idem: "the same thing."
esse: "to exist."

section 19

quae discrepant bona: = bonorum quae discrepant: bona has been attracted into the relative clause.
alterum: alterum . . . alterum: "the one . . . the other."
alterum: alterum . . . alterum: "the one . . . the other."
neutrum: "neither."
alterutri: < alteruter, "the other one"; dative with deest.

section 21

nec: nec . . . nec . . . nec: the negative force of the conjunctions may be ignored in translation; it only repeats that of nihil.
reapse: = re-apse (-apse is an emphasizing suffix).
nec: nec . . . nec . . . nec: the negative force of the conjunctions may be ignored in translation; it only repeats that of nihil.
nec: nec . . . nec . . . nec: the negative force of the conjunctions may be ignored in translation; it only repeats that of nihil.

section 22

ueluti: "just as," introducing a comparison answered by ita.
geometrae: "those skilled in geometry."
quae: antecedent must be taken as aliquid, whose indefinite force allows it to be construed here with the plural relative.
porismata: Greek plural < po/risma; technical term borrowed from Greek for logical conclusions, especially those discovered as a by-product of another demonstration.
ueluti: "a sort of," "so to speak"; used to soften force of the metaphor corollarium.
corollarium: originally "a trifling gift" (usually a crown of flowers, hence a diminutive of corolla); Boethius uses it to capture the serendipitous quality of this conclusion: something unlooked-for but welcome. Cf. also 3P12.32 (munusculum).

section 23

adeptione: "by acquisition . . ."

section 24

uti: "just as."
sapientiae: sc. adeptione.
diuinitatem adeptos: "[those men] having acquired divinity."

section 25

Omnis: Omnis . . . unus: "Every happy man [is] a god, but by nature there is one [God]."
unus: Omnis . . . unus: "Every happy man [is] a god, but by nature there is one [God]."
quam plurimos: "as many [as you like]."

section 27

hoc: ablative, refers to the argument to follow in 28.
his adnectendum esse: "must be connected to these [earlier conclusions]."

section 28

multa: accusative plural neuter.
utrumne: introducing an alternative question: whether happiness is the sum of its parts or whether a single quality embodies happiness, from which the other qualities arise. The question is restated in section 31 of the next paragraph. In classical Latin, the verbs would have been in the indicative.
ueluti corpus: see on 22.
an: introducing an alternative question: whether happiness is the sum of its parts or whether a single quality embodies happiness, from which the other qualities arise. The question is restated in section 31 of the next paragraph. In classical Latin, the verbs would have been in the indicative.

section 30

30: Sections 30-43: the five main constituent parts of happiness (sufficientia, etc., from 3P2-8) are now considered again in light of B.'s fuller understanding of true happiness.
Addas: subjunctive with licet; "you may add."
eadem: eadem . . . eadem . . . beatitudo: subject of all the verbs.
eadem: eadem . . . eadem . . . beatitudo: subject of all the verbs.
beatitudo: eadem . . . eadem . . . beatitudo: subject of all the verbs.

section 31

uerticem: "highest point."

section 33

discretionem: "distinction, separation," applied to the components of the logical problem.
discreparent: "would differ."

section 34

alioquin: "otherwise."
quod fieri nequit: because coniuncta implies a joining together of more than one thing.

section 36

palam est: "it is clear that"; governing accusative/infinitive.
idem: object of coniectare.

section 37

expeti: present passive infinitive < expeto.

section 38

tamen si: "if still."
esse uideantur: sc. bona.
summa, cardo atque causa: subject of esse uideatur.
bonitas: predicate nominative.

section 39

Cuius uero causa quid expetitur id: "that for the sake of which something is sought."
ueluti: "as for example."
equitare: "to ride horseback."

section 41

sic quoque: "in this way also," i.e., by this argument also.

section 43

Securo: "surely," adverb.
usquam alio: "anywhere in another place," i.e., "anywhere else."